71201: One of the greater portents of the Hour: the sun rising from the place of setting?

In North Pole and South Pole sun never sets for six month and never rises for six months. The sun rises from east and when it is reaches the west it does not set but it rises again, this process continues for six months. Now two questions arise out of this scenario A. How does one pray Magrib and Isha Saalat? B. How can we explain/understand the hadeeth that says ‘sun will rise from west before judgment day’?.

Published Date: 2006-12-24

Praise be to Allaah.

The sun is one of the signs of Allaah, for which He has
created a course in which it runs, and a system from which it does not
change. It rises in the east every day, but when Allaah gives permission for
the world to end and the Hour to begin, He will command it to rise from the
west. At that time all people will believe and will be certain of the
resurrection, but their faith will not avail them anything at that moment,
except for those who believed before.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“The day that some of the Signs of your Lord do come, no
good will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not before, nor
earned good (by performing deeds of righteousness) through his Faith”

[al-An’aam 6:158]

al-Bukhaari (4635) and Muslim (157) narrated that Abu
Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Hour will not begin
until the sun rises from its place of setting. When it rises from its place
of setting, all people will believe, but on that day ‘no good will it do
to a person to believe then, if he believed not before,’ [al-An’aam 6:158].”

Allaah says, describing the movement of the sun and its
submission to the command of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning):

“And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term
(appointed). That is the Decree of the All‑Mighty, the All‑Knowing”

[Ya-Seen 36:38]

This is explained in the Sunnah. Al-Bukhaari (3199) narrated
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to
Abu Dharr, when the sun set: “Do you know where it goes?” He said: Allaah
and His Messenger know best. He said: “It goes and prostrates beneath the
Throne, and it asks for permission, and permission is given to it. But soon
it will prostrate and it will not be accepted from it, and it will ask for
permission and permission will not be given to it, and it will be said to
it: ‘Go back from where you came.’ So it will rise from its place of
setting, and that is what Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And
the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (appointed). That is the Decree
of the All‑Mighty, the All‑Knowing.’”

Al-Tahhaawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his well
known book al-‘Aqeedah: We believe in the portents of the Hour, the
emergence of the Dajjaal, the descent of ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (peace be upon
him) from heaven, and we believe that the sun will rise from the west. End
quote.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Similarly, the sun and moon travel in their orbits along the courses decreed
for them until an appointed time, until Allaah will give permission for this
universe to be destroyed. Then the sun will emerge from its place of setting
as is narrated in Saheeh al-Bukhaari from Abu Dharr. Then he quoted
the hadeeth mentioned above.

This hadeeth clearly indicates that the sun travels by
itself, as is also indicated by the verses in which Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“And the sun runs on its fixed course”

[Ya-Seen 36:38]

“Each running (on a fixed course) for an appointed term”

[al-Zumar 39:5]

“each in an orbit floating”

[al-Anbiya’ 21:33]

This evidence proves false the idea that the sun is fixed and
does not move, and indicates that this is a false notion which should be
refuted. End quote from Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il al-Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (6/195).

Conclusion: one of the signs of the onset of the Hour is that
the sun will rise from the west instead of rising from the east. When that
happens, it will indicate that the onset of the Hour is very close, and at
that time belief will not benefit the kaafir at all.